(UnitedVoice.com) – On January 26, Americans received shocking news. Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is stepping down from the bench after 27 years on the high court.
According to reports, Breyer will finish his current term on the court, which ends in June or July. That will give him an opportunity to weigh in on some of the most important cases in decades, including a challenge to abortion precedent. At 83, he’s currently the oldest sitting justice and the court’s top Liberal. He’d refused calls from Progressives to retire last term. In a speech last year, he said judges had a responsibility to renounce loyalty to the political party that put them on the bench.
Breyer’s retirement opens up an opportunity for President Joe Biden to put someone on the high court. The president has already said he would nominate a woman of color and Press Secretary Jen Psaki reaffirmed that promise after news broke of Breyer’s retirement.
Asked if Pres. Biden will honor his pledge to nominate a Black woman to Supreme Court following reports of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, White House press sec. Jen Psaki says he “certainly stands by that.” https://t.co/NyK4wgtmSQ pic.twitter.com/yOYmuCgZsu
— ABC News (@ABC) January 26, 2022
Biden’s discriminatory vow to select a nominee based on race and gender is already stirring up controversy. But will that be enough to stop him from replacing Breyer?
Probably not.
If President Biden gets a nominee through the Senate before the midterms, it shouldn’t be an issue if all 50 Democratic senators and Vice President Kamala Harris support it. That’s because the threshold for approval in the Senate is only 51 votes. If the GOP successfully delays the nominee and wins the majority in the Senate, it’s possible they could block the process until after the 2024 election. But, that’s a lot of “ifs.”
It looks like a fight is brewing in Washington and Americans will have a front-row seat.
Copyright 2022, UnitedVoice.com
